Lawyers say horse fight not over
Posted by By Steven Hepker
Jackson Citizen Patriot | Top Stories
May 02, 2008 23:30PM
Attorneys for two horsemen vindicated of felony torture say they will win the remaining misdemeanor animal cruelty case and Jackson County will pay for the horses it seized.
Circuit Judge Chad Schmucker on Wednesday dismissed felony counts against farm owner James Henderson and herd manager Matt Mercier, saying there was no evidence the men intended to harm their horses.
"This is a case that never should have been brought in the first place," Henderson's attorney, Michael Dungan, said. "If Animal Control had only listened to their own veterinarian, and their own first choice horse rescue team, this case never would have been started."
Prosecutors maintain a history of neglect and poor conditions led to torture. They are still considering appealing Schmucker's ruling.
"If we do appeal, it will be in the next 10 days," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer said.
Animal Control investigated Turn 3 Ranch, east of Grass Lake, in March 2007 and took control of the farm and 69 horses. After the foaling season, the county eventually was responsible for maintaining more than 80 horses.
Nearly all were sold at auctions last fall, most at low prices reflecting the depressed horse market. Two barrel-racing stallions sold for $10,000 each.
The county's expense, not including prosecution, exceeds $133,000. The county sold the horses for about $50,000.
The tab could climb considerably if Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson rules the forfeiture was improper, or if Henderson and Mercier win in a threatened civil suit. Wilson will hear a motion May 16 to overturn the forfeiture ordered by District Judge Joseph Filip last summer.
Attorney Richard Ginsberg, who represents Henderson in the civil matter, will ask Wilson to toss the forfeiture ruling and order the county to make financial amends. Ginsberg could not be reached for comment.
Making Henderson whole again, in legal terms, could require replacing 83 horses, covering lost stud fees and other lost income.
The misdemeanor abuse case, separate from the civil forfeiture issue, is scheduled to go to trial June 16. The felony charges referred to three horses, while the cruelty case covers the other 66 horses on the farm in March 2007.
Ronald Fabian, attorney for Mercier, said Mercier will not take a plea in the misdemeanor case nor will Henderson.
"Jim would lose his job," Fabian said.
Henderson is a veteran probation officer for Ann Arbor, specializing in supervising defendants convicted of domestic violence.
Testimony in District and Circuit courts indicated Henderson was an absentee owner and that Mercier ran the farm. Testimony also has shown the farm was in disrepair, although a veterinarian testified before Schmucker that debris was mostly outside the horse pens and that Mercier followed his treatment recommendations.
The farm community has been uneasy about the action, fearing a foot in the door for further seizures of livestock deemed to be neglected, abused or tortured. Farmers fear animal welfare officers that confuse farm animals with household pets.
"Congratulations Jim and Matt," the road sign at the Napoleon Cafe declared this week after Schmucker's ruling.
"That is how the community looks at this case," Fabian said. "There was all kinds of testimony that these guys were regular farmers and that Animal Control's own veterinarian, Dr. Shray, said the horses were in good condition."
Testimony from various witnesses indicated Mercier and Henderson were not practicing the best of animal husbandry, and that some horses were undernourished and in need of veterinary care. Horses broke down fences and ran in the roads numerous times.
James Spink, a police officer, farmer and president of the Jackson County Farm Bureau, delivered donated hay to Turn 3 in the first two days it was seized.
"There were some issues with the condition of the facilities, and with enough feed on hand for that time of winter," Spink said. "But it wasn't felony torture. I think the judge ruled appropriately."
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office recently took over Animal Control, and there has been speculation that some Animal Control staff and the lead prosecutor on the Grass Lake case may have been forced out.
Undersheriff Thomas Finco said Friday no one was fired over the horse case, and that changes recently instituted were at the animal shelter and had nothing to do with horses.
"When we get cruelty to animal complaints, we are going to investigate them," Finco said.
As for the lead prosecutor, Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Lamp was hired as an assistant prosecutor in Ingham County. She said at the time it was a career move.
"No one asked her to leave," Blumer said.
Regardless of the criminal and civil outcome, the way Animal Control conducts business may change.
Spink said the farm community will not tolerate animal abuse or torture, but also will fight further attempts to seize livestock or to equate farm animals with household pets.
Jackson attorney Alfred Brandt, who has handled several animal cruelty cases involving farmers, said he recommends that farmers facing an Animal Control investigation should contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture for an independent investigation.
That move helped him defend a Leoni Township farmer who was accused of keeping sloppy pig pens and not properly burying dead piglets. A judge tossed the case.
"Always call the Department of Ag," Brandt said. Early in the Grass Lake case, Animal Control called state veterinarians who said the horses' body conditions ranged from poor to moderate. They also said trash and debris posed safety risks to the horses.
Spink said the Jackson County Farm Bureau is working with local legislators to pass a bill that would require animal welfare officers to seek search warrants based on probable cause.
"Now, they can walk in your house or barn on a hunch," Spink said. "They have more search powers than law officers. This case snowballed out of hand, and Animal Control did not have a grip."
We're not going anywhere, Jackson County.
We want justice for the defendants, justice for Summer and all the other horses sent to death by your own doing, and to any other unknown ends, like to the so-called "rescue" that was begging online for hay it couldn't afford for the weanlings it purchased at Napoleon.
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